“You’re not part of his cartel, then?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. Part of me had assumed he was— that he was Carter’s second in command or something like that; that his business was just a front for them.
Lucas laughed, his eyes lighting up now. The tension from earlier had dissipated a good bit now. “No, I’m not part of Carter’s cartel. I help with a few things for Carter personally, but I don’t answer to anyone. Carter and I have just been friends for a very long time.”
“So, I guess you figure I should do the video chat with him.” We’d beaten around the bush long enough. At the end of the day, that was the whole reason we were even discussing my father. Not much point in dancing around the subject any longer than we already had.
“That’s... a difficult question to answer,” Lucas said after a moment’s pause. “Carter is one of my oldest friends, and I owe him more than I can ever repay. But Carter King isn’t exactly what you’d call a good man. He’s made many enemies over his lifetime, enemies that would do anything to take him down. Including go after his daughter.”
A lump formed in my throat as Lucas and I locked eyes. Would random gangs and cartels really come after me just for being related to the man? It wasn’t like he’d ever really been a father to me. I’d never met the man. I hadn’t even known his name until recently. So what could they possibly gain from coming after me?
“I will do everything I can to keep the video conference between the two of you secure, should you decide to go through with it. But there aren’t many secrets in prison. If it gets out that you’re his daughter, you may have an even bigger target on your back.”
Wes reached out, taking my hand in his. He squeezed it gently, reminding me that he would be right there beside me, watching my back. But what could he do against gangs and cartels? He wasn’t bulletproof.
“Carter won’t be happy if I don’t agree to the call, though, will he?” If he was as dangerous as everyone kept making him out to be, wouldn’t ignoring him also put a target on my back? It didn’t seem like there were really any good options.
“No, he won’t be happy,” Lucas agreed. “But he also won’t try to retaliate against you, if that’s what you’re worried about. Now, I may be a bit biased, but Carter really seems to care about you. It’s why he kept his distance when you were little, not wanting you to get dragged into his crazy life. If he hadn’t cared about you, he wouldn’t have had me watching out for you for all these years.”
I nodded. That made sense. Even though he hadn’t been there for me growing up, maybe it had been for the best. It was hard to really believe that, though, especially when I thought back to all the sleaze bags Mom had hooked up with just to keep a roof over our heads or provide for me. If he’d really cared about me if he’d really wanted Lucas to watch over us, why hadn’t he done anything about that?
“Do you want to talk to him?” Lucas asked.
Wasn’t that the million-dollar question? Part of me did want to speak with him, wanted to get to know the man who’d helped create me. But, after almost eighteen years, it was hard to just suddenly accept that I had a father. I wanted to believe what Lucas had said about him abandoning me being for the best, but I wasn’t quite ready to fully accept that yet.
“I... don’t know,” I said at last. “Do I have to make the decision right away?”
“Of course not. Carter has extended the olive branch, and I’ve passed it along to you. Whatever happens next is your choice. Don’t feel like you have to rush into it. It’s not like Carter is going anywhere.”
I laughed at his little joke. If Carter really did want to play a role in my life now that Mom was gone, then he’d wait for me to make up my mind. And, if he wasn’t serious about it, then I’d find out soon enough.
“Can you tell him I appreciate him reaching out and that I’m still thinking about it?” When Lucas nodded, I smiled. “I’m not going to fully write him off, not yet anyway, but I still need to process some stuff and figure out what I’d want from him or even say it to him.”
“Take your time. I’ll pass along your message to him and tell him to be patient. And, when you’re ready, I’ll give him whatever decision you make. If you decide you’re not ready to get to know him, that’s fine. You can always change your mind in the future, too.”
“Thank you.” I squeezed Wes’s hand, and then the two of us left Lucas’s office and headed back upstairs to my room.
Chapter 12
The moment my door was closed, Wes pulled me into his arms. He didn’t kiss me this time, not yet anyway. He just stood there, holding me in his arms. Once again, I felt like nothing could hurt me. The weight of the world melted away. It was just the two of us together, and nothing else mattered.
Then, he pulled me over to the bed, moving my books out of the way so we could lie down together. I laid my head on his chest, enjoying the closeness of him. I’d never been this close to a boy before. Well, not emotionally, anyway. But even though I’d wanted to murder Wes when I’d first gotten here, now I wanted to spend all of my time with him.
“Tell me about your mom,” he said after a few minutes of silence.
“What do you want to know?”
Wes shrugged. He looked into my eyes, then smiled. “What was she like? What did you and her use to do together?”
“She was tough,” I said immediately. It was true, too. She had to be tough to take care of me. Because, while she’d had what felt like an endless string of boyfriends, barely any of them had been much help in taking care of a little girl. “Even when things got hard for us, she always found a way to get through it. Even if it meant she didn’t get to eat some days, just so she could make sure there was enough food for me. And she never complained about it either.”
“I wish I could’ve met her. I’m not sure my mom could’ve done that. I mean, I love her to pieces and all, but she’s definitely gotten used to the spoiled life.”
“And you haven’t?” I teased, knowing full well Wes had never gone hungry in his life. He was lucky that way. “But yeah, she did the best she could, taking care of me. It was rarely ever easy, but we got through it, somehow.”
At least we had until that bastard had shot her. All because she’d tried to stop him from raping me. If it hadn’t been for that bastard, she’d have still been there, watching out for me like always. She’d have known what to do about Carter, how to handle all of it.
“She worked nights a lot of times since that’s when she could make the most money as a waitress. But on the nights when she didn’t have to work, we’d sit on the couch and watch cheesy chick flicks on TV. I’d never been a big fan of them, but Mom loved them, so I’d always sat with her and watched them, just so we could spend time together. I guess maybe when she watched them; she was hoping her prince charming would come and sweep her off her feet and take care of the both of us.”
“I wish I’d known about you back then,” Wes said, running a hand through my hair. For someone who’d been a man-whore up until I’d moved in, he still knew how to be gentle and romantic. “If I had, I’d have made Dad do more for you guys. You didn’t deserve to have to grow up like that.”